As a former CMO, I’ve worked both in the U.S. and overseas for a variety of companies, such as P&G, PetSmart, and David’s Bridal. After nearly 20 years in industry, I obtained a Ph.D. and am currently an Assistant Professor at the University of Virginia's Darden School of Business, conducting research that addresses contemporary CMO challenges.

The Future Of Ad Agencies: An Interview With A 'Hybrid' Ad Man

Technological advances. New media. Dynamic change. For nearly 20 years, the advertising world has been warned of a turbulent future, one that required the industry to either embrace it or find the industry left in the dust. “The advertising business may be heading for trouble – or it may be heading for a new age of glory. Believe it or not, the direction – up or down – is in our hands.” These words were uttered in 1994 by Ed Artzt, the CEO of Procter and Gamble, as he foreshadowed a time of tremendous change.

With social media, digital media, and an explosion of communication channels, the promise of turbulence has arrived. And with the turbulence, significant change in the advertising industry arrived. What follows is an interview with an advertising agency “hybrid”, Dan Roglin. Dan has worked in the advertising industry for over 20 years, developing campaigns for leading brands such as Porsche, Sea-Doo, PetSmart, California Pizza Kitchen (Kraft frozen), AirTran Airways and others. He grew up on the database marketing side of the business and was eventually promoted to senior strategic management positions in account planning.

Question: How is the advertising world changing?

The environment is changing and there is increasing pressure to be more accountable, operate more efficiently and to think long-term. We are in a transition from a very traditional way of doing things that we have grown comfortable with over many decades to assimilating ‘new’ technologies that, in some cases, have actually been around as long. There is a greater degree of instability as ad agencies try and figure out the path to success. Some firms are attempting to integrate everything in one house, such as Draft FCB while others are attempting to specialize such as Digitas.

Question: Given the turbulence, what skills are especially important in the ad man / woman of today?

What is true with automobiles is also true with advertising agencies — there needs to be greater synergy using new and existing technologies. A hybrid automobile combines two technologies, the internal combustion engine and the electric motor, to maximize efficiency and performance. Brand Planning and Database Planning are similar to the hybrid automobile engine as the processes have historically operated somewhat independently. They shared the same space but never seemed to fully meld together.

In the world of advertising, the hybrid is the person who brings together two disciplines. Planners, in particular, need to combine the skill of marketing research experts, who understand the drivers of customer behavior, with the skill of database analysts, who can identify specific individuals likely to possess those behavior-changing attributes. In the new world, Planners need to have both the Brand Planning and Database Planning skills to be able to effectively lead their brands’ development.

Question: Can you explain how Brand Planning and Database Planning are different?

They are actually similar in that they both create “business intelligence” but are different in how they go about their work. The Brand Planner, or Account Planner, is relatively new to U.S. advertising having originated in the U.K. The Database Planner is not a position you see in the organizational charts at an agency, or anywhere close to the top of an agency’s hierarchy. The real difference between the two positions is the Data Planner works with personally identifiable information (PII) – names, addresses, phone numbers, e-mail addresses etc. They work with vast amounts of demographic, lifestyle, behavioral and, in some cases, attitudinal data at the individual level. They create statistical profiles and predict the behavior of the individual (using predictive models). The Account Planner works with samples in the form of survey data, focus groups, interviews, intercepts, etc. They create ‘personas’ rich in qualitative characteristics that can be extrapolated to a larger audience. The two haven’t historically always collaborated.

Question: Can you give us an example of how combining the Brand Planning and Database Planning skills can yield a more effective Hybrid Ad Man / Woman?

As an example, a luxury sports car company launches a new breed of vehicle with a well-integrated campaign that the agency develops. All the elements of an integrated campaign are deployed: mass advertising (TV, radio, print, etc.), PR, social, digital, POS, event marketing and, of course, direct response marketing to competitive set owners. Part of the success of the campaign is a result of the flow of information from the Brand Planner to the Database Planner which made it possible to target consumers that fit a specific persona – consumers that looked like, acted like and thought like the persona.

The results showed that nearly 2/3rds of the new owners had never owned the brand before. Who were they? Why did they buy? What cars have they had in the past and gotten rid of? How many other vehicles within the brand will they buy over time?

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